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Americans are spending like mad again

Retail sales rose 0.8% in May, the government reported Thursday — much better than expected. Spending was up 5.9% from a year ago.
And the gains were broad: Spending surged at clothing stores, at restaurants and at home-improvement stores such as Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW).
In fact, the jump in spending at physical stores in May outpaced what the government calls nonstore retailers, a category that includes Amazon (AMZN) and other online retailers. (It also includes catalog retailers, vending machines and even newspaper delivery. How quaint!)
American shoppers are feeling more confident because of a strong economy and ... (full story)